New land use laws, more transit use, tolls would cut Route 422 traffic in Berks and region, planners say

Transportation planners believe the traffic nightmare on Route 422 in southeastern Pennsylvania will get worse unless the region embraces public transportation and curbs suburban sprawl.

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission's solution is to increase reliance on public transportation and fundamentally shift land use.

The agency discussed its plan here Tuesday and will meet with officials in more than 20 municipalities in the coming year as part of an effort to get the public and municipal officials on board.

With the number of people and employers in the region expected to increase over the next 20 years, traffic congestion will worsen significantly unless communities address both land use and public transportation, said Jerry Conye, manager of transportation studies for the commission.

"This is a systematic and wholistic approach," he said.

The commission recommends:

Revitalizing older downtowns.

Developing new passenger rail and bus services.

Concentrating business and residential developments in the same area.

Increasing highway capacity.

Preserving open space.

Unless land use is addressed, any increase in population will further strain the road system, said Joseph Bucovetsky, a planner with McCormick Taylor, a consultant working on the 422 study.

Following these planning guidelines would conserve more than 1,000 acres of green space in Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties, Bucovetsky said.

A central component to the long-term plan is the R-6 extension, which creates passenger train service between Norristown and Wyomissing, Conye said. A study on that service is under way, including whether charging tolls on Route 422 could pay for train service and highway improvements.

Several of the more than 25 residents who attended the meeting Tuesday opposed using tolls for train service.

"I think our major concern here is economic development and I don't see how we can accomplish that with a toll road," said Lower Pottsgrove Township resident Jim Pendergast.

But Leo Bagley, a Montgomery County transportation planner, said failing to address congestion on the highway will hamper business growth.